Challenges of conducting systematic research in Australia's Northern Territory

This paper explores the challenges of conducting systematic research, using our experiences of conducting a study to evaluate the effectiveness of ABRACADABRA, an online tool for early childhood literacy instruction as the contextual framework. By discussing how the research team resolved such perennial issues as high teacher turnover, low or erratic Indigenous student attendance, difficulties with collecting reliable data on student outcomes, and the time and funding required to travel long distances, we show how rigorous research might still be conducted, to counter the usual proffering of such challenges as reasons why experimental research should not be attempted. Without minimizing the dimension of the logistical and funding challenges facing the conducting of experimental research in regional and remote settings, we end with an appeal that such work be prioritized, lest already disadvantaged education settings suffer further neglect in terms of national research priorities.     

Bridging the Gap? A Comparative,Retrospective Analysis of Science Literacy and Interest in Science for Indigenous and Non‐Indigenous Australian Students

Previous research has shown that indigenous students in Australia do not enjoy equal educational outcomes with other Australians. This secondary analysis of PISA 2006 confirmed that this continues to be the case in science literacy for secondary students. However, the analysis also revealed that indigenous Australian students held interest in science equal to that of their non‐indigenous peers, and that observed variations in science literacy performance were most strongly explained by variations in reading literacy. These findings hold important implications for teachers, teacher educators, policy‐makers, and researchers. Firstly, acknowledging and publicly valuing indigenous Australian science knowledge through rethinking school science curriculum seems an important approach to engaging indigenous students and improving their literacy in science. Secondly, appropriate professional learning for practising teachers and the incorporation of indigenous knowing in science methods training in teacher preparation seems warranted. Additionally, we offer a number of questions for further reflection and research that would benefit our understanding of ways forward in closing the science literacy gap for indigenous students. Whilst this research remains firmly situated within the Australian educational context, we at the same time believe that the findings and implications offered here hold value for science education practitioners and researchers in other countries with similar populations striving to achieve science literacy for all.     

基于“学习素养”的高师生“教学素养”培育研究

该文以小学教育专业高师生为研究对象开展教学行动研究,基于学情分析,从反思质疑、知识转化、观摩探索、团队学习、信息管理、自我导向等策略维度,构建以"学习素养"推动"教学素养"的教学模式。教学实践表明,高师生的学习态度、学习策略可以解释教学素养的变异。个体反馈比集体反馈更能影响学习态度,进而影响教学素养;有意识的学习策略教学比无意识的学习策略教学更能促进教学素养的提高;知识转化策略能显著促进教学实施能力的提高,学习素养培育可以提高高师生教学素养。     

职业教育学生经济素养的实证研究——基于三省六所中等职业学校的调查

经济素养是现代公民素养的重要组成部分。文章以TEL经济素养量表为基础编制问卷,对中职学校学生经济素养的现状、特点以及影响因素进行调查。调查结果显示,学生的经济素养有待提高,表现为对市场经济运行基本规律不熟悉,常从政策角度思考经济问题,缺乏经济理性判断能力,这容易引发与经济活动有关的社会和心理问题。经济素养不足与历史和社会发展进程相关,也与学校现有课程体系和教学内容设置相关。     

大学英语听力课堂改革初探

本文阐述了建立科学的大学英语听力教学评估体系的意义,详细分析了过去的教学评估体系存在的弊端及危害,指出我们必须建立一套适应大学英语听力教学目标的新的教学评价体系。通过课程设计及教学评价使学生在英语课程的学习过程中不断体验进步与成功,认识自我,建立自信,快乐地学英语,更好地促进学生综合语言运用能力的全面发展。     

大学英语听力课堂改革初探

本文阐述了建立科学的大学英语听力教学评估体系的意义,详细分析了过去的教学评估体系存在的弊端及危害,指出我们必须建立一套适应大学英语听力教学目标的新的教学评价体系。通过课程设计及教学评价使学生在英语课程的学习过程中不断体验进步与成功,认识自我,建立自信,快乐地学英语,更好地促进学生综合语言运用能力的全面发展。     

Implementation integrity in peer tutoring of mathematics

A two-year randomised controlled trial of peer tutoring in mathematics using the Duolog Math technique was operated in 80 schools. The aim was to achieve adequate implementation quality with modest pre-intervention training for teachers, who received brief didactic training and no process feedback (but they were to train pupils using modelling, practice and feedback). Implementation integrity was observed in Year 1 in 29 randomly selected schools; in Year 2 in 30 randomly selected schools. In both years some observed variables of class-wide context and individual technique were high; however, some were lower. There were deficits in: teachers introducing the problem, suggesting ways to concretise the problem and holding plenary sessions. Crucially, there was very little summarising or generalising. Thus, implementation was partial in both years, but better in Year 2. The implications for future intensity of training are explored.     

Embedding the literacy strategy: snapshots of change

This paper considers the government's initiative to change the teaching of literacy in primary schools in England. It draws on evidence from a one‐year ESRC‐funded project that observed teaching in the first year of the NLS and a two‐year follow‐up study that revisited and re‐interviewed several of the teachers from the original study. It proposes that, although substantial changes have been made to the organisation and procedures of literacy teaching, deeper pedagogical change is less obvious in some classrooms. It further argues that for teachers to have the freedom to develop their pedagogy, the climate of coercion and outcome‐led education must change.     

Treatment fidelity reporting in intervention outcome studies in the school psychology literature from 2009 to 2016

Both student outcomes and treatment fidelity data are necessary to draw valid conclusions about intervention effectiveness. Reviews of the intervention outcome literature in related fields, and prior reviews of the school psychology literature, suggest that many researchers failed to report treatment fidelity data. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend previous reviews of treatment fidelity in four school psychology journals between 2009 and 2016. Results indicate that a plurality of studies reviewed operationally defined some, but not all intervention(s). Further, the majority of studies (72.8%) include a quantitative treatment fidelity data, a 35% increase from the Sanetti, Gritter and Dobey (2011) review of these same journals. Results also indicate many studies include data on multiple dimensions of fidelity. Of the multiple dimensions, adherence is (a) the most commonly reported dimension, (b) most often reported using a single index, (c) assessed using in vivo observation, and (d) high in a majority of studies. Further, results indicate some study and design characteristics are associated with the presence of operational definitions and treatment fidelity data.     

高中化学必修教科书学生必做实验的比较研究与教学建议

从编排位置、实验内容、呈现方式等方面对比研究人教版和苏教版高中化学教科书在必修课程中设置的9个学生必做实验,发现：人教版在“实验活动”栏目中呈现,基本按照固定的模式编排,绝大多数为验证性实验,实验难度较小;苏教版在“基础实验”栏目中呈现,编排形式多样,多数为探究性实验,实验难度较大。依据对比结果,为落实学生必做实验在化学核心素养培育中的教育目标,提出相应的教学建议：让学生亲自实践,在问题解决中深化和发展认识;选择合理的教学方式,积极倡导“做中学”;促进学生思维构建,提高实验教学的质量和效果。     

培养模型认知能力提升化学核心素养研究

化学“模型认知”是化学核心素养的重要内容之一,培养学生的模型认知能力对于高中化学学习有重要意义。文章结合具体的教学实践,从建构模型、研究模型、理解模型、应用模型的角度探讨在高中化学中如何整合课程资源,创新教学手段,以培养学生的模型认知能力。     

Indigenous graduate research students in Australia: a critical review of the research

Over the last decade, there has been a steady increase in the number of Indigenous graduate research students in Australia, yet research and pedagogy has not kept pace with changes underway in the sector. From an extensive search of literature published between 2000 and 2017, 15 papers (representing 10 research projects conducted by seven teams or authors) were identified that addressed Indigenous graduate research student experience. Overall, the literature tends to focus on identifying barriers to completion, noting in particular the impact of financial difficulties, social isolation and racism. A research degree is a key site for the assertion and legitimation of Indigenous knowledges, and it is here that Indigenous students are navigating tensions between legitimated disciplinary practices of the centre and the peripheral status of Indigenous knowledges. We, therefore, adopt Herbert's ‘centre–periphery’ model to interpret the research, arguing that this framework explains the focus on barriers, the neglect of pedagogy centred on academic excellence and student strengths, and research relationships between students and Indigenous communities. Our review identifies the need for a systematic research agenda specifically focused on Indigenous student success at the graduate research level, and looking internationally in order to assess the performance and strategies of Australian higher education providers in comparison to international institutions meeting the aims of First Nations research communities. This approach, we suggest, should move beyond an analysis of the nature of enablers and barriers to focus on Indigenous Higher Degree by Research success.     

Action groups as a participative strategy for leading whole-school health promotion: Results on implementation from the INCLUSIVE trial in English secondary schools

Education policy increasingly promotes action groups as a key strategy for student and/or staff participation in school improvement and whole-school health promotion. Such groups can coordinate multi-component interventions, increase participation and engagement, and enable local adaptations, but few process evaluations have assessed this. We evaluated fidelity, feasibility and acceptability of action groups as part of a trial of a whole-school intervention to reduce bullying and aggression and promote health in English secondary schools, which reported multiple health and educational impacts. Action groups involved students and staff, supported by external facilitators, and drew on data on student needs. They aimed to: coordinate implementation of restorative practices and a social and emotional competencies curriculum; review policies and rules; and enact local decisions to modify school environments. Our process evaluation used interviews, focus groups, observations and questionnaires to assess action groups’ fidelity, role in coordination, role in local adaptation, support from external facilitators and data on student needs, and acceptability in engaging members. Fidelity was high in the first two years but lower in the third year when external facilitators withdrew. Student needs data were perceived as useful, but views on external facilitators were mixed. Groups successfully reviewed policies and rules, planned activities and coordinated restorative practices, but were less successful in implementing the curriculum. Success was facilitated by the involvement of school leaders. Members reported high satisfaction and empowerment. Action groups are a promising strategy for leading whole-school health promotion. Implementation is supported by external facilitation, local data and involvement of senior managers.     

如何加强研究生科研能力的培养

本讨论了研究生培养中的几个问题，提出了在研究生教育过程中要抓好基础理论学习、加强实验教学、加强对外交流、充分利用实验室的实验条件、发挥导师的指导作用等建议。对研究生学习中的各教学环节进行了分析讨论，提出了加强研究生科研能力培养的重要意义。     

Changing practice: The National Literacy Strategy and the politics of literacy policy

Drawing on a recent ESRC‐funded research project, 1 this paper will explore some of the contradictory structural features of the National Literacy Strategy (NLS), which have helped shape its evolution over time, and reflect on some of the tension points which have arisen at different levels of implementation as the Strategy unfolds. In the process, the paper will consider NLS not so much as a neutral means of transferring ‘what works’ from one site to another, but rather as itself constituting a new social context in which literacy teaching and learning take place. It will pay particular attention to the new pace of teaching that NLS has ushered in and the way in which this is driven by the kind of planning regime that NLS introduced.     

Principals as Literacy Leaders with Indigenous Communities (PALLIC) building relationships: one school’s quest to raise Indigenous learners’ literacy

In 2011 to 2012, 48 schools in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland participated in the Principals as Literacy Leaders with Indigenous Communities (PALLIC) project. Central to this project was the establishment of positive working relationships between school principals and Indigenous community leaders in order to improve Indigenous literacy rates. Professional development in leadership skills and effective literacy instruction was provided through five professional learning modules. Participants worked together to create an action plan to support the literacy achievement of Indigenous students in their schools and communities. This article presents a case study of one participating school in Northern Queensland that successfully utilised the PALLIC framework to facilitate leadership actions and activities between Indigenous community and school leaders in order to form productive partnerships for the teaching of reading. In particular, the case study highlights the way that school leaders and Indigenous leaders established shared leadership and shared ways of learning in the school for reading outcomes of Indigenous students.     

Literacy Policy in Ireland

Over the past 15 years or so, individual governments worldwide have put an unprecedented focus on educational policy in an effort to ensure the acquisition of literacy skills for all children, recognising underachievement in literacy as a universal social justice issue preventing many individuals from reaching their promise. In Ireland, literacy has recently moved to centre stage with the publication of the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011–2020 (DES, 2011a) and the Policy on the Continuum of Teacher Education (Teaching Council, 2011). How policies are conceived, constructed, interpreted and translated into action on the ground are key determinants of their success to effect change and achieve intended outcomes. This article examines the process of policy development in Ireland. It begins with a brief outline of primary education and then traces the influences that gave rise to the new policies. Next, the key dimensions of the policies and their expected outcomes are outlined. The article concludes with some reflections on the possibilities, challenges and implications for schools and schooling.     

Longitudinal disciplinary and achievement outcomes associated with school‐wide PBIS implementation level

Positive behavioral interventions and support (PBIS) is a multitiered framework for behavioral support that is being increasingly implemented in schools. Although research has linked PBIS to improved student outcomes, less research is longitudinal and considers both academic and behavioral outcomes. This study examined the relationships between changes in school‐wide (i.e., Tier I) PBIS implementation level and changes in disciplinary and achievement outcomes over a 2‐year period. Participants included 85 Ohio schools with data on PBIS implementation fidelity (from the tiered fidelity inventory, or TFI), out‐of‐school suspensions (OSSs), and statewide achievement tests for the 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 school years. Linear regressions were conducted to examine the degree to which changes in TFI Tier I scores predicted changes in OSS and achievement scores when controlling for school‐level demographic variables that also were related to the outcome variables. Changes in TFI Tier I scores was found to significantly predict changes in OSS per 100 students but not changes in achievement scores.     

Promoting teachers’ implementation of culturally and contextually relevant class‐wide behavior plans

Disproportionality in disciplinary actions for certain racial groups has been well documented for several decades. In an effort to support all students, specifically those who are culturally and linguistically diverse, many have called for adopting a multitiered system of support framework that is considerate of student culture and school context. This framework applies to supporting students’ learning and behavior across settings, particularly in the classroom. To bridge existing gaps between theory and practice, this empirical study sought to evaluate whether teachers who self‐assessed their own use of culturally and contextually relevant practices would implement a class‐wide behavior plan with high levels of implementation fidelity. Results indicated that teachers who engaged in self‐assessment and training did implement the plan with high levels of implementation fidelity, particularly when given performance feedback. Additionally, students tended to display slightly higher rates of academic engagement upon consistent implementation of the plan.     

团体辅导改善大学生学习投入状况的实验研究

目的：通过实验研究证明团体辅导在改善大学生的学习投入状况方面具有重要作用。方法：采用实验组、对照组前后测设计,对实验组实施团体辅导,采用大学生学习投入量表并结合学生自评进行评估。结果：1.在学习投入各维度上,实验组和对照组前后测差异显著;2.团体成员对学习投入团体辅导活动评价积极。结论：团体辅导对大学生学习投入的干预有效。